You be You

The way the world defines identity is as the condition of being oneself or itself and not another condition or character as to who a person or what a thing is

But God defines identity a different

See God defines identity as abandoning any image of yourself that is not from HIM.  (die to self)

That you stop accepting what others have said about you, how others have labeled you and how others have defined you

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I. Story of David and Goliath

I love the story of david and goliath

See in my eyes, David was a bad man. 

From youth all the way to his death

He was baaaadddddd

in the ebonics term of bad

See My personal opinion is that david is the example of a mans man

he was senstive when he needed to be,

but when he needed to he could get down with the best of them

See in the story of David and Golaith, I see just one instance where david is identifying himself

See all through Davids life he deified mans view of who he was

He didnt play games

and he definitely didn’t accept the status quo

And that is one reason why I like  David

HE KNEW WHO HE WAS

HE KNEW WHO GOD CALLED HIM TO BE.

and through all that he went through, he never doubted the word of his father.

-Let me give you a little background

Let me give you a little background

One day Jesse sent his youngest son David to take a basket of goodies to the captain of the Israelite army.

David had stopped off at the local mcdonalds and picked up some happy meals and stuff for his brothers so they could have some sustenance other than the stuff they were serving at the camp.

And when David arrives at the battle ground he sees these warriors. 

These mighty men of God heading out to battle

David is getting all pumped cause like any kid he’s like

“ah yeah, goliath is about to get beat down, I dont believe that I get to see this”

But there is a problem

As soon as they, the warriors, see the philistine champion

These mighty men of God run screaming like little girls

Like dogs with their tails tucked in between their legs

-David cannot believe his eyes

-See these warriors were defeated by fear

-They apparently didn’t know who they were

Rom 8:37 (NLT) says that despite all things, overwhelming, victory is ours

NIV says that we are more the conquerors

Do you get it,

that means that you stand from a position of victory

It means that the battle has already been won,

and the enemy got his butt kicked.

therefore the battle has already been won and that the victory trophy has already been handed out

So like any curious kid today

David wants to know whats up

He wants to know why these mighty men of God are running,

And so the answer or response that he gets from one of these warriors is unsatisfactory: 

this warrior has the nerve to look at david, and then have the nerve to let fear roll off his lip

HE SAYS: HAVE YOU SEEN HIM, HAVE YOU SEEN HOW BIG HE IS?

And right there you see Davids spirit rise up

Hes like, what are you talking about.......?

He’s like, thats not how I see it

see my God is a big unbeatable God

and he don’t travel with a small entourage either,

see last time i checked, he had some pretty big angels on his side.

See even as a boy David was a little cocky

I mean he was a teenager

And if you are a parent you definitely know what I am talking about

-Now don’t get me wrong

It was a Godly cocky as David knew who he was

-But on top of being that he was also a little curious

-He began to ask around what a person gets if the defeat this giant

-So davids brother hear and catch wind to Davids question

so his brothers get angry at him

So they begin to berate and to hate on their little brother

See if you didn’t know it yet, even family can be your very kriptonite

See haters exist they usually tell you by their actions and responses that your doing something right

See without haters, without enemies God can not prepare a table before you

Anyway Saul over hears this and calls for david

see saul is king at this point and i can just imagine what he is thinking at this point

I mean his reputation is here on the line

I mean i dont know if this is an election year or what

But one thing that I do know is that he cannot afford to win this battle

He cannot afford to win this battle

But once Saul see’s this cocky teenager he has his reservations

But see David didn’t doubt

And without reservation David tells Saul, Don’t worry, I got this

Ridiculous Saul says

he’s looking at this scrawny teenager and then thinking bout this muscular 9 foot giant that david says hes going to defeat

See hes hatin

but see here I love Davids response here

1 Sam 17:34-37 (NLT)

34But David persisted. “I have been taking care of my father’s sheep and goats,” he said. “When a lion or a bear comes to steal a lamb from the flock, 35I go after it with a club and rescue the lamb from its mouth. If the animal turns on me, I catch it by the jaw and club it to death. 36I have done this to both lions and bears, and I’ll do it to this pagan Philistine, too, for he has defied the armies of the living God! 37The lord who rescued me from the claws of the lion and the bear will rescue me from this Philistine!”

See David knew exactly who he was in Christ.

He knew that regardless he would overcome

II. Identities

Our identities are formed by our earlier experience

We spend so much time trying to be someone or something that we are not as we try to find ourselves

Majority of our life is spent just trying to fit in

As kids we are told to respect and obey our parents then as we get older we adopt other role models

And all because they seem to have it all together we find it easier to emulate instead of forging our own identity

I wanna be i wanna be i wanna be like mike

you remember that one?

So in the midst of it we are taken to church and told that we are who God says we are

While in our minds we ask WHO IS THAT

And as we try to find ourselves the consequences punish us

So I do not blame you one bit for being confused

I mean i was

COME ON PARENTS AND ROLE MODELS.  WE COMPLAIN THAT OUR YOUTH IS JUST LAZY.  YET WE ARE THE ONES THAT ARE LEAVING THIS YOUNGER GENERATIO TO FIGURE IT OUT FOR THEMSELVES

WE ARE LEAVING THE PARENTING TO OUR TEACHERS AND PREACHERS TO LEAD THE CHARGE

WE EXPECTING OUR LAW ENFORCEMENT AND COACHES TO TEACH MORALITY

TO FILL A POSITION THAT GOD ORDAINED US TO DO

FATHERS YOU NEED TO PUT DOWN THAT REMOTE FOR YOU ARE THE FIRST LINE OF DEFENSE.  

I LOVE MOTHERS, AND THEY ARE DOING A GREAT JOB

BUT GOD ORDAINED YOU TO BE THE PRIEST OF THE HOUSE HOLD

OK, IM DONE, OFF OF MY SOAP BOX

III. (NLT)

10 For we are God’s masterpiece. He has created us anew in Christ Jesus, so we can do the good things he planned for us long ago.

-According to the dictionary a masterpiece is a persons greatest work of art

-Did you hear that

-Were you listening to me

-YOU ARE GODS MASTERPIECE

you are his greatest piece of work

And the best thing is that each and everyone of us is unique

Im not making it up.  Gods word said it itself

oIm not making it up.  Gods word said it itself

Your bible said it

there is so much in the bible defining who you are

and there is so much in the bible defining who you are

Col. 2:10 (NLT) 10So you also are complete through your union with Christ, who is the head over every ruler and authority.

10So you also are complete through your union with Christ, who is the head over every ruler and authority.

Isa. 54:14 (amp) 14 You shall establish yourself in righteousness (rightness, in conformity with God's will and order): you shall be far from even the thought of oppression or destruction, for you shall not fear, and from terror, for it shall not come near you.

See God created you in His image

As a cop, when a crime was committed, in order for us to close it we had to find out who did it.

We had to identify the perpetrator

We did that by identifying the DNA or identifying characteristics

we had to identity what made them unique

See no fingerprint is the same

And out of approx.. 100,000 hair follicles on your head

Not one of them is identical

God created you to be you

You are who God says you are

So I guess what I am saying to day is lets not be something that we were not designed to be

Lets not be something that we are not called to be

See saul didn’t know it, but he eventually had to submit to the authority of God

ill let you chew on that. and if you dont know the story, than go and read it

-See David was so persistent that Saul had no choice and said yes

He tried to fit david in his armor but david knew that he couldn’t fit what was made for someone else

He knew that he couldn’t fight in what was unfamiliar

He knew that he couldn’t fight in something that was tailored made for him and be successful

its A lot like someone elses identity it is tailored for them

A loit like someone elses identity it is tailored for them

Illlustration

TD Jakes

Its nice

I can listen to all his sermons

But by wearing his jacket it just doesn’t make me him

I can copy his styles and manurisms

IV.Closing

I can walk, talk and act like TD

But regardless of how hard I try,

I am still not TD JAKES

IV.Closing

See people of God

He designed you perfectly in his image

He didn’t intend for Kim to act like Mariah Carey

He created her to have her own sound and her own worship

He didn’t design my sonTanner to be his father

-He didn’t design Tanner to by his friend Havi

Yes some of the mannerisms and actions are the same

thats natural

But His intention was for you to be you

See as a child I loved Michael Jordan

oHe was spectacular

He was spectacular

I mean the man was AWESOME

He defied gravity on a regular basis

But one thing I eventually learned is that when MJ puts on that jersey and he steps out on that court,

that hes in his element.

See He was who God designed him to be

And see, no matter how hard I tried.  Putting on that jersey did not make me MJ as much as standing in a garage made me a car.

God made me to be me

He made you to be you

uniquely and wonderfully made

See Bishop TuTu might be cool

-They may be the big man on campus right now

and he may have a large following

But one thing that I learned is that big is in many instances a cover up for little

So you be you

Have complete and absolute confidence in who God has called you to be

David did and see where that got him

And there is one thing that you have to understand

And that is that in order to get there that sometimes we have to be uncomfortable.

-And to get there sometimes we have to be uncomfortable.

But listen to me.

And listen to me carefully.

  Sometimes we have to learn how to be comfortable in being uncomfortable

You be you

God designed you to be a masterpiece, not a copy

He created you to be unique.

So as I am closing many of you are searching for that unique you, looking for the you that God designed you to be

As I am closing many of you are searching for that unique you, looking for the you that God designed you to be

And maybe some of you have fallen in that identity trap

And maybe some of you have fallen in that identity trap

That’s ok

Just know that he loves you regardless of your yesterday

Yesterday is gone, today is new

Raise your hands and allow the spirit to permeate your heart

Whether you are here, or your somewhere in the world wide web

If you would like prayer.  If you would like to find that UNIQUE you God is here to talk to you personally

If you would like prayer.  If you would like to find that UNIQUE you God is here to talk to you personally

If you feel comfortable come up and let God show you how much he loves you

And if you are online and you would like prayer, there are many ways to get in touch with Infinite and a team member will get back to you. those ways of getting in contact with us will be in the title.

num. 26

Numbers 6:24–26 ESV

The Lord bless you and keep you; the Lord make his face to shine upon you and be gracious to you; the Lord lift up his countenance upon you and give you peace.